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TURKEY THREATENS TO BAN AUSTRALIAN POLITICIANS FROM GALLIPOLI
The Diplomat
Sept 4 2013
September 04, 2013
By Luke Hunt
A spat over the use of the word "genocide" in NSW threatens the
centenary of the landings.
Gallipoli, Turkey - A diplomatic row between Turkey and politicians
from the Australian state of New South Wales is threatening the
commemorations for the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings,
which resulted in the deaths of more than 130,000 soldiers.
The dispute erupted after the NSW Parliament passed a motion
recognizing an alleged Armenian genocide by the Turks, which began
around the same time as Australian, New Zealand, Indian, British and
French forces began their campaign to seize control of the Dardanelles.
At the time, Turkey was in a state of upheaval amid ethnic wars and
the breakdown of the Ottoman Empire, which would eventually lead to
the creation of modern-day Turkey in 1923.
Turkish historian Kenan Celik says the facts that ethnic cleansing
and massacres took place was not in dispute, but the use of the word
"genocide"-primarily a post World War II term indicating the deliberate
and systematic destruction of an ethnic group-remains hotly contested.
"This whole region was lawless for more than 10 years. Killings,
looting, rape and massacres were common and there was no organized
government. So it's wrong to say it was genocide," he said.
More than 20 countries have recognized the slaughter of up to 1.5
million Armenians as genocide, alongside the slaughter of Greeks and
Assyrians. In Australia, Christian campaigner and MP in the NSW Upper
House Fred Nile was behind the campaign, arguing the Armenians have
no time for arguments about definitions or the sensitivities of the
modern Turkish state.
"(The Ottoman Turks) just eliminated people systematically-community
by community, village by village," Nile told Australian radio. "In
fact it's interesting that when Adolf Hitler planned the genocide of
the Jews there were some questions asked and he said himself 'Don't
worry, who remembers the Armenian genocide?' Who remembers it?"
The motion was unanimously passed in both houses of the NSW Parliament
and came after the Fairfield local council in Sydney's Western suburbs
approved construction of a memorial to the alleged Assyrian genocide,
described by one Turkish official as "very offensive." Nile along with
some historians have also used eyewitness reports from Australian
and New Zealand prisoners of war who, while interned, witnessed the
forced evictions of Armenian villages.
The response from Turkey's hardline Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to
Nile's outbursts has been predictably harsh.
His government is threatening to ban all members of the NSW Parliament
from attending the centenary commemorations at Gallipoli and nearby
Canakkale, which holds a special place in the collective conscience
of Australians, for whom a pilgrimage to Gallipoli is widely seen as
rites of passage. Thousands make the trip each year, many attending
the dawn service on April 25, the day the first troops landed.
Erdogan, whose Islamic credentials are a match for Nile's Christian
fundamentalism, is ignoring calls on his government to separate the
Gallipoli commemorations from arguments over whether the slaughter of
Armenians should be declared a genocide. The two issues have little
in common.
"These persons who try to damage the spirit of Canakkale/Gallipoli
will also not have their place in the Canakkale ceremonies where we
commemorate our sons lying side by side in our soil," Turkish foreign
minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. "We announce to the public that we
will not forgive those who are behind these decisions and that we
don't want to see them in Canakkale anymore."
http://thediplomat.com/2013/09/04/turkey-threatens-to-ban-australian-politicians-from-gallipoli/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
The Diplomat
Sept 4 2013
September 04, 2013
By Luke Hunt
A spat over the use of the word "genocide" in NSW threatens the
centenary of the landings.
Gallipoli, Turkey - A diplomatic row between Turkey and politicians
from the Australian state of New South Wales is threatening the
commemorations for the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings,
which resulted in the deaths of more than 130,000 soldiers.
The dispute erupted after the NSW Parliament passed a motion
recognizing an alleged Armenian genocide by the Turks, which began
around the same time as Australian, New Zealand, Indian, British and
French forces began their campaign to seize control of the Dardanelles.
At the time, Turkey was in a state of upheaval amid ethnic wars and
the breakdown of the Ottoman Empire, which would eventually lead to
the creation of modern-day Turkey in 1923.
Turkish historian Kenan Celik says the facts that ethnic cleansing
and massacres took place was not in dispute, but the use of the word
"genocide"-primarily a post World War II term indicating the deliberate
and systematic destruction of an ethnic group-remains hotly contested.
"This whole region was lawless for more than 10 years. Killings,
looting, rape and massacres were common and there was no organized
government. So it's wrong to say it was genocide," he said.
More than 20 countries have recognized the slaughter of up to 1.5
million Armenians as genocide, alongside the slaughter of Greeks and
Assyrians. In Australia, Christian campaigner and MP in the NSW Upper
House Fred Nile was behind the campaign, arguing the Armenians have
no time for arguments about definitions or the sensitivities of the
modern Turkish state.
"(The Ottoman Turks) just eliminated people systematically-community
by community, village by village," Nile told Australian radio. "In
fact it's interesting that when Adolf Hitler planned the genocide of
the Jews there were some questions asked and he said himself 'Don't
worry, who remembers the Armenian genocide?' Who remembers it?"
The motion was unanimously passed in both houses of the NSW Parliament
and came after the Fairfield local council in Sydney's Western suburbs
approved construction of a memorial to the alleged Assyrian genocide,
described by one Turkish official as "very offensive." Nile along with
some historians have also used eyewitness reports from Australian
and New Zealand prisoners of war who, while interned, witnessed the
forced evictions of Armenian villages.
The response from Turkey's hardline Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to
Nile's outbursts has been predictably harsh.
His government is threatening to ban all members of the NSW Parliament
from attending the centenary commemorations at Gallipoli and nearby
Canakkale, which holds a special place in the collective conscience
of Australians, for whom a pilgrimage to Gallipoli is widely seen as
rites of passage. Thousands make the trip each year, many attending
the dawn service on April 25, the day the first troops landed.
Erdogan, whose Islamic credentials are a match for Nile's Christian
fundamentalism, is ignoring calls on his government to separate the
Gallipoli commemorations from arguments over whether the slaughter of
Armenians should be declared a genocide. The two issues have little
in common.
"These persons who try to damage the spirit of Canakkale/Gallipoli
will also not have their place in the Canakkale ceremonies where we
commemorate our sons lying side by side in our soil," Turkish foreign
minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. "We announce to the public that we
will not forgive those who are behind these decisions and that we
don't want to see them in Canakkale anymore."
http://thediplomat.com/2013/09/04/turkey-threatens-to-ban-australian-politicians-from-gallipoli/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress